Panama City, July 13th, 2016 (UNESCO). Inaccurate communications, isolated populations and sensationalist coverage acutely exacerbate risks during crisis and disaster situations. In such sensitive contexts, and especially in health-related emergencies, journalists must impart populations with accurate news and verified information to prevent misinformation and rumors which could result in fatal choices. On this basis, UNESCO is organizing a two-day workshop entitled “Inform, Engage, Investigate: Media and humanitarians in crisis situations – Lessons learned from Zika outbreak”, which will be held in Panama City, Panama from 14 to 15 July 2016 with participation of the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to Frank La Rue, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, who will represent UNESCO at the event, communication is essential for all development issues, but for health matters it is of particular urgency and importance. “A call should be made for responsible reporting by health institutions and media in order to be as accurate as possible. Communication has to be designed in a way that it is scientifically exact but, in the same time, accessible to a broad public”.
This workshop will be the opportunity to gather public, private and associative stakeholders involved in crisis management, disaster-relief operations and communications to allow them to exchange on their respective realities, needs and constraints.

The main objective of this workshop is to strengthen media’s potential in crisis situation in Latin America and the Caribbean. In line with World Humanitarian Summit, this regional workshop follows UNESCO’s initiative to fully develop and promote media’s potential in times of epidemics and crisis – as established during the preventive radio campaign led by the Organization to tackle Zika virus across the Latin America and the Caribbean region.

Each session will address a specific issue related to risk communication: from reporting medical data, to effectively engaging affected communities, as well as ensuring media’s principles in perilous contexts.